I Need My Blog Because My Brain is Dead

Today I took YS into Indianapolis to Riley Children's Hospital to see a pediatric pulmonologist. I'm truly thankful that hubby was able to stay home with MS, so I didn't have to concentrate with both little boys in the room. I was a bit anxious about this trip because I'm not the world's greatest driver (alright, I've said that now! Also note, I'm not the world's WORST driver - this note is primarily for my immediate family, but I doubt I'll change their minds) and I get flustered when I am trying to find a new location. More thanks for the wonderful directions Riley sent.

I'm wondering why we always seem to schedule extra things in on a stressful day? My husband was supposed to take his car in last Monday. He shifted the appointment to this Monday and then we learned of YS's appointment. He said, "Not to worry, we'll just get the car to the shop by 8 a.m." I had to be at Riley at 9 a.m.

ES was being pokey this morning (still adjusting to getting up earlier for school), so my hubby graciously offered to drive him to school on his way to the shop. A while later, I dashed out the door with MS and YS and the papers for the appointment (minus several important things: a diaper bag, a stroller, and my cell phone). When I arrived at the shop, my hubby wasn't there. A man came out to ask who I was picking up. I gave the name and car description and he said "We don't have anyone fitting that description on the schedule today."

As Becky Bloomwood would say, "DON'T PANIC! DON'T PANIC!" Sorry, I DID panic. Where in the world could he be? It is the only shop we use! Did I misunderstand him? Oh rats, I don't even have my cell phone, so I can't reach him. What am I gonna do? I can't take MS with me - he's in his pjs with no shoes on his feet and no breakfast in his tummy.

I drove to the only other shop we had used in this area. No car and no hubby. MS suggested we should drive home. I decided to swing back to the original shop. There stood my husband. He was berating himself for agreeing to drive ES to school and was convinced that I would either be late to the appointment or get involved in an accident (such faith could move mountains, but there are no mountains between our home and Riley).

I followed the directions to a T and arrived in the parking garage at 8:58. By 9:02, with YS and his two Thomas cars and Sleepy Bear in my arms, I arrived at the reception desk. First question: YS's social security number. I don't know it. Husband's ss number? Again. I don't know it.

In the examining room, the doctor asked me to provide his health history. When I said that he really hadn't been sick at all until the 3 episodes of croup in the last six months, she probed further asking questions about breathing problems. A vague memory drifted in. Ah, yes. I did have to take him to the ER when he was 4 months old (hubby later informs me it was 2 months old, and he could probably even give the exact date!) for something related to breathing. Was it RSV? What was it? My brain couldn't even remember! I explained that I had called the "Ask-a-Nurse" number and held the phone to the baby's mouth and she told me to call an ambulance. I figured it would be quicker to drive (since it might take the ambulance a while to locate us out in the boonies) and that was my first frantic ER trip. That was also our first purchase of a nebulizer for breathing treatments.

The appointment went really well, I just wish I could retain medical information and questions more thoroughly. The doctor noted a hemangioma near his neck (this is a birth mark). After the questions, which I answered to the best of my (limited brain cell) ability, she diagnosed YS with recurrent croup, asthma (with a question mark) and noted the hemangioma on his file for future reference. He is in the age range/size range for bouts of croup. He could just be unlucky in encountering the virus which causes croup. However, many patients she sees for asthma were individuals who had recurrent croup at a younger age.

They cannot test for asthma at this point. However, she did indicate that it would be best to treat YS as if he has asthma as a preventative measure. I will administer two puffs of Flovent (a steroid inhaler) twice a day and will also use an albuterol inhaler, as needed (or the nebulizer, if we prefer that method).

In discussing the hemangioma, she indicated that sometimes infants who are born with one externally, may also have one internally (or on the trachea, and this might cause problems). The only way to determine if that is the case, would be to perform a bronchioscopy (where they put a tube down the throat, usually without sedation). Thankfully, she felt that this step would be unnecessary at this point. She noticed that he was very clingy with me during the examination and during the nurse's assessment (YS is already 36 inches tall and is not even two yet!). I was thankful that she didn't want to traumatize him (although he did have to get x-rays today - he didn't seem to mind afterwards, when they gave him Thomas the TE stickers).

She did offer to provide a prescription for an oral steroid which we could keep in our refrigerator in case another bout of croup came up, but I didn't feel comfortable (I guess I would prefer to take him to a professional, rather than making it my decision to administer the steroid). Perhaps, I will change my mind on that. All in all, I feel like YS is in good hands. We will return for a follow-up appointment in 2 months. If this is more medical news than you wanted or needed to read, realize that my blog sometimes serves as a substitute (or back-up disk) for my dead brain!